Conventional methods for dealing with such chemical toxic wastes as represented by the Love Canal crisis have been rejected as inadequate. Many similar disastrous discoveries have added to the immensity of the problem with the prospects of costs that are astronomical. The foundations of a practical solution were indeed discussed with the City of Niagra Falls in Aug. 1978, followed by a confidential disclosure more recently.
The Coal Reactor version of a vertical shaft furnace is envisioned as the best approach to the detoxification of hazardous chemical wastes, offering on site operation to minimize handling and transportation. In this fashion a clean, inexpensive energy source resulting from the burning of coal can give rise to an adequate thermal reservoir and slag volume for the treatment of such wastes, taking full advantage of a new type of utility station awaiting development. The symbiotic operation inherent in the innovative response to the health dangers posed by chemical toxic residues from industrial plants virtually insures successful resolution of an increasingly growing environmental menace for which there may be no other realistic solution.